The painting was donated to the National Trust by the widow of a wealthy property developer in her estate.

The painting will hang at the 700-year-old abbey -- which was formerly the home of 16th-century explorer Francis Drake -- for another eight months before being sent for cleaning and further examination.

When it first arrived at the abbey it was kept in storage for 18 months as there was nowhere to hang it, but it now becomes one of the National Trust's most important paintings.

"It's amazing to think we might've had an actual Rembrandt hanging here on the walls at Buckland Abbey for the past couple of years," said Jez McDermott, the abbey's property manager.

"Many of our visitors will have just passed by it, in what is sure to be a real contrast to the attention it is now going to receive."